Q 01/05

Which Mexican general lost a leg to French cannon fire in 1838, then had it buried with full military honours?

A) Mariano Arista

B) Santa Anna

C) Nicolás Bravo

D) Pedro de Ampudia

Answer · why

B) Santa Anna

Santa Anna later saw that buried leg dug up by a mob and dragged through the streets. A cork replacement was captured by US troops in 1847 and kept as...

Q 02/05

Which country secretly offered Mexico the return of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico in a telegram decoded by Britain?

A) Japan

B) Russia

C) Austria

D) Germany

Answer · why

D) Germany

Germany made the offer in the Zimmermann Telegram, hoping a war on the border would keep American troops at home. Its exposure helped bring the United...

Q 03/05

Which crop did the Aztecs of Mexico froth into a bitter drink and count out as small change in markets?

A) Cacao

B) Coffee

C) Vanilla

D) Tobacco

Answer · why

A) Cacao

Cacao beans worked as money: Spanish records from 1545 priced a small rabbit at thirty of them and a turkey hen at a hundred.

Q 04/05

Which 1838 conflict saw France blockade Mexico's Gulf ports over unpaid claims for damage to its citizens' property?

A) The Pig War

B) The Whisky War

C) The Pastry War

D) The Football War

Answer · why

C) The Pastry War

The Pastry War took its name from a French pastry chef who said Mexican officers had looted his shop near Mexico City. He demanded 60,000 pesos for a ...

Q 05/05

In legend, which sign from the god Huitzilopochtli showed the Mexica where to found their capital?

A) A jaguar on a rock

B) An eagle on a cactus

C) A serpent in a spring

D) A heron on a reed

Answer · why

B) An eagle on a cactus

An eagle on a cactus is the sign in the legend, and the scene sits at the centre of Mexico's flag. Several early Aztec depictions show the bird withou...